Any concern over the New Orleans Saints offense, generated over the first three preseason games, turned out to be as misplaced as your car keys are when you're really, really in a hurry to get somewhere that you really, really need to be.

When the Saints held on to the ball Saturday night against Houston's defense in the first half, they pretty much moved it at will against the Texans in what became a 34-27 New Orleans victory at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

When they didn't turn it over - a couple of fumbles, leading to gift touchdowns for Houston in the first and second quarters - they sliced the Texans as cleanly as everyone has come to expect the record-setting unit to do.

In one half of work Drew Brees completed 17 of 25 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. The offense rolled up 224 total yards and it posted touchdown drives of 65 and 77 yards, and a field-goal producing drive of 70 yards.

There's no telling what those numbers might've looked like if running back Chris Ivory hadn't fumbled after an 11-yard run at the Saints' 40-yard line, or if receiver Joe Morgan hadn't been stripped of a first-down pass from the Saints' 12, which the Texans recovered.

As it was, New Orleans still was able to parlay its offensive possessions and a special team touchdown -- Junior Galette returned a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter - into a 24-24 tie at halftime.

The lesson? The Saints can create a mess on offense and clean up the spill just as efficiently. And if they aren't benevolent, they can be just as lethal as last season, when they piled up 7,474 yards, 62 touchdowns and 6.7 yards per play on offense.

Now, unfortunately, that doesn't mean life is going to be easy this season.

The defense on Saturday gave as much as the offense took. The Texans had the two short scoring drives after the fumble recoveries in the first half, sure, but they also piled up 233 yards of offense. And quarterback Matt Schaub (15 for 18 for 194 yards and a touchdown) intensified the torching that was ignited by Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert nine days ago.

Apparently, that unit is going to need a helping hand -- maybe, a big helping hand -- while it regains its health and works to get its act together.

But there may be no better bailout plan than asking a Brees-led offense for help.

In today's NFL, there only are a handful of certainties.

One, the intense, national whining over the replacement refs will continue until the regulars agree to terms on a new contract (and the complaining likely isn't going to be the deciding factor in the negotiations, no matter how many thousands of people make known their feelings).

Two, Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow will be a headliner regardless of whether he earns, or even seeks, the attention.

Three, at best, the Saints' bounty saga won't end until Coach Sean Payton is reinstated after his yearlong suspension. And even then, it'll be talked about until he coaches the first game of the 2013 regular season.

And, four, Brees and the Saints offense will undress opposing defenses much, much more than they'll be undressed.

The latter is based on the fact that the Saints have been nearly impossible to shackle since Brees and Payton arrived in 2006. So even though Payton isn't allowed to contribute, the playbook he crafted still is in circulation, the gunslinger who has mastered it still calling the signals and while Payton isn't around personally to inject his swagger, enough of it should be left over from previous seasons to suffice.

Evidence of that was presented Saturday against Houston.

A few not-terribly-sharp preseason performances were wiped away like a trickle of sweat from the brow, and no traces remained of what anyone thought they'd seen in terms of lackluster play.

Minimize the gift-giving and the offensive fireworks will follow. But even if a few more turnovers than are acceptable occur, this offense can cover for that, too.